Riding the Waves

By Christopher BrinckerhoffAssociate EditorPosted July 04, 2017

Perforated panels give existing building audio wave-inspired new look

A renovation and expansion project of the University of Texas at Dallas' Callier Center in Dallas uses metal panels arranged in patterns inspired by audio waves, frequencies and communications. The judges were impressed by the application of vertical ribbed metal wall panels and noted the considerable improvement the addition made to the original structure.

Audio Inspiration

The facility houses the Callier Center for Communications Disorders clinic, which supplied the inspiration for the communication-focused audio wave and frequency patterns. The building also includes classrooms for the university.

SmithGroupJJR's Dallas office and employees at the firm's other locations completed the project. Mark Kranz, FAIA, design director at Smith- GroupJJR in Phoenix, says, "We designed two panel profiles for the fabricators to brake, while different levels of perforation and opacity were also specified. We organized them into a rhythmic pattern that creates an elegantly composed façade from the exterior, and a translucent layer that harvests daylight from the interior."

"The performance criteria for the panel profiles was centered around structural rigidity, ability to create shade and shadow, while offering different levels of translucency for the occupant on the inside of the building looking out," Kranz says.

Bright Entries

The perforated metal panels create a visual aesthetic for the building and are shading devices at entries and glazed portions. New façades were constructed at the clinic entrance on the west side and student entrance on the south side.

"The custom-broke perforated scrim created shade and a translucent layer that allowed filtered light into the classrooms and clinic entry," Kranz says. "The west entry features a covered patient drop-off and entry at the campus' north edge."

"As the building sits on the north end of campus, as part of an emerging research and academic precinct, it is still somewhat remote from the campus' main academic core," Kranz says. "This brightly colored element screams entry, utilizing a University of Texas at Dallas campus color as a wayfinding device. The dramatically chromatic student entry utilized larger perforated plate assembly, highlighting a large stair, shade canopy and outdoor terrace."

Expansion Connection

The judging panel commended the project for making a vast improvement on the existing building and forming a cohesive design. Some of the original building's nuance is maintained by perforated and solid panels reflecting its original, vertically oriented, solid brickwork and glazing portions.

"This expansion project married together the scale and materiality of the existing one-story structure with a partial one-story, partial two-story massing concept. At the courtyard, a pedestrian shade canopy links together new and old into a cohesive space for students, faculty and patients."